Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Winning the NFC South isn’t something to celebrate given the current state of the division. Will the Glazers really be satisfied with yet another postseason run that ends Wild Card weekend?

ANSWER: This is a great question and one I think I know the answer to – but you’re not going to like it. I think will all of the injuries that the Bucs have faced this year, the excuse for this season is already built in – even after an embarrassing 34-7 loss to the Rams on Sunday Night Football. Todd Bowles will return in 2026 if he wants to – unless the bottom completely falls out down the stretch. And by that I mean if Tampa Bay winds up 8-9 or worse and loses the NFC South division to Carolina.

But even then, I’m not sure Bowles doesn’t get one more year to try to right the ship with a healthier roster in 2026. The Glazers were as firmly behind Bowles as I’ve ever seen at the NFL Annual Meeting this past spring. Remember, they signed Bowles through 2028 with a contract extension during the offseason. And this came after they essentially chose Bowles over offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who departed for Jacksonville to be the head coach of the Jaguars.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

The could have fired Bowles and replaced him with Coen, but they appreciated Bowles’ steady leadership and the fact that he had delivered three divisional titles in his first three seasons as head coach – something no other coach had ever done in Tampa Bay. It took Jon Gruden seven seasons to win three NFC South titles. So it would take a seismic shift in thinking by the Glazers to undo what they have done, which is put a lot of belief – and money – into Bowles.

Yet it should be noted that Gruden got fired after receiving a massive contract extension prior to the 2008 season – and after a 9-3 start dissolved into a 9-7 finish with no playoff berth. But keep in mind what transpired after Gruden was fired. Gruden was replaced by Raheem Morris, who was replaced by Greg Schiano, who was replaced by Lovie Smith, who was replaced by Dirk Koetter, who was ultimately replaced by Bruce Arians. Tampa Bay didn’t make the playoffs between 2008-2019 in what I’ve called “the decade of darkness.”

Do the Glazers want to possibly go down that road again? Just being “good” is not as good as being “great,” but being “good” beats being “awful.” Some would say that is settling for mediocrity, and there is some truth in that. Morris proved to be a lot worse than Gruden, and even Smith was worse than Schiano. Changing coaches comes with a huge risk and I don’t think that happens after this injury-riddled season.

QUESTION: After repeated episodes of coaching malpractice, including sending out the obviously injured franchise QB at the end of the first half with the game already out of reach, coupled with the collapse of the defense this season, will the Glazers seriously consider firing Todd Bowles?

ANSWER: If I was Todd Bowles, I would’ve pulled Baker Mayfield the second he started grabbing his left shoulder after the touchdown pass to Tez Johnson. Mayfield is a tough guy, but the risk was too great to keep him in the game in which Tampa Bay trailed 28-7, especially after Matthew Stafford answered Mayfield’s touchdown, which temporarily cut the lead to 21-7.

Yet Mayfield toughed it out and played two more series, completing two short passes for eight yards before failing to convert on fourth-and-2. After a Rams field goal pushed their lead to 31-7, Mayfield returned for one final series where was 1-of-5 for seven yards and threw an interception on a Hail Mary that was nowhere near the end zone before halftime. Mayfield recovered an errant snap and then was sacked by Jared Verse before further injuring his left shoulder on his Hail Mary heave after landing awkwardly on it.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

There was no way the Bucs were going to beat the Rams last night. I knew that Tampa Bay was going to get its ass kicked in Los Angeles and called it on Wednesday’s Pewter Report Podcast – literally saying that the Bucs were going to get their asses kicked. The Bucs needed Mayfield more against the Cardinals, the Saints and the Falcons in the next three games than they needed him in a losing cause versus the Rams. But Mayfield injured his shoulder nonetheless in the second quarter, and that injury was not Bowles’ fault to begin with.

If Bowles were to get fired as you suggest he should, who would replace him? I don’t know that there is an immediate candidate out there right now that the Glazers would consider. What I can tell you is that Bowles’ eventual replacement – whether it’s through his eventual firing or his eventual retirement at some point – will likely be a young offensive play-caller.

As I stated before, this season’s built-in excuse is injuries. No team has been as decimated as Tampa Bay with injuries to key starters this year. So I believe Bowles will get a reprieve and get to coach the 2026 campaign unless the season really goes south from here on out and Carolina rises up and steals the NFC South division. Then that might give the Glazers some pause. We’ll see what happens. If the Bucs handle business and wind up winning 10 or 11 games there is no way Bowles gets fired.

QUESTION: We saw the defensive struggles last year. Any DC would have been fired long ago. If the team makes the playoffs and Todd Bowles remains head coach, what will it take for him to give up defensive play-calling?

ANSWER: If Todd Bowles were told to give up play-calling by either general manager Jason Licht or the Glazers, I think he would likely retire rather than do that. I’m not sure Bowles has the confidence in George Edwards or Larry Foote to trust them with calling the plays on defense – and I’m not sure either coach would do a better job, honestly. If the Bucs make the playoffs, that would mean that Bowles’ defense would have done enough to win the division again – likely with at least 10 wins. If that’s the case, then Bowles would certainly continue to call plays.

One thing is certain, though. Bowles must get more out of his players this year and he and Jason Licht need to find more impact playmakers next year. An occasional sack by Yaya Diaby and a weekly pass breakup by Tykee Smith isn’t getting the job done.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Although Tampa Bay’s defense has missed the play of cornerback Jamel Dean, defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, and to a degree the play of outside linebacker Haason Reddick – although he has not been the difference-maker the team had hoped he would be – Bowles’ defense hasn’t been up to par against the great teams it has faced this year.

This started in Week 4 in the first half of the 31-25 loss to the Eagles. Yes, part of Philly’s 24-6 lead at halftime came on a blocked punt, but Bowles’ defense surrendered 17 first half points. Then the defense surrendered four touchdown passes in a narrow, 38-35 win at Seattle in Week 5.

A 24-9 loss at Detroit followed in Week 7, in addition to allowing 28 points to New England, 44 points at Buffalo and 27 out of the 34 points Los Angeles scored on Sunday Night Football. And keep in mind that Bowles’ defense hasn’t been as banged up as the offense has been this season.

Have the Bucs missed on some premium draft picks on defense recently? That is being more clear each week that we don’t see any progress from second-round defenders like Logan Hall or Chris Braswell. And it’s also clear that Licht made a mistake by rewarding Zyon McCollum with a three-year contract extension this past August instead of letting him play out his contract year. So it’s not just a Bowles problem on defense. Licht has some more work he needs to do this offseason, too.

QUESTION: The PR staff and anyone with a pulse for this team predicted exactly what would happen tonight. That is a coaching problem. It is now a four-year sample size and the same kind of midseason lull. Injuries have sucked but not an excuse for what has happened post bye week.

ANSWER: After the team’s 28-23 loss to the Patriots, I tried to caution fans that the Bucs were going to lose their next two games on the road at Buffalo and Los Angeles, and that’s exactly what happened. This team is 6-5 as I had predicted it would be a few weeks ago – and even before the season in my SR’s FAB 5 column back on August 29. I had the Bucs winning the next two games against the Cardinals and Saints to get to 8-5 before losing to the Falcons on Thursday Night Football. In the end, I predicted three straight wins, including sweeping the Panthers, which I’m not sure happens now.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Baker Mayfield’s injury is the wild card in all of this now. With a healthy Mayfield, I think wins against Arizona and New Orleans seemed likely. Now it gets murkier with Teddy Bridgewater for sure. Josh Grizzard needs to dial up better plays and lean on the ground game over the next two weeks in order for the Bucs to right the ship. More importantly, Tampa Bay’s defense needs to stop giving up touchdowns on a regular basis and play better.

If Todd Bowles does return next year, I think he needs to consider some changes to his defensive staff. Is Zyon McCollum really that bad as a cornerback, or is just not being properly developed by the right coach? Cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross played with Bowles and Temple, and safeties coach Nick Rapone was actually Bowles’ safeties coach at Temple. Ross is 63 and Rapone is 69.

Perhaps it’s time for some new, young blood on the defensive coaching staff? I remember how much Monte Kiffin’s gamble on hiring Joe Barry to replace Lovie Smith and hiring Mike Tomlin to replace Herm Edwards paid off for Tampa Bay in 2001. Barry and Tomlin brought youth and energy to the Bucs defensive coaching staff and played integral roles in helping the Bucs win Super Bowl XXXVII the next season in 2002.

One final note on Bowles. Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out. The Bucs just lost to two great teams in the 10-2 Patriots and the 9-2 Rams and a very good team in the 7-4 Bills. It just got more difficult for sure with Mayfield’s injury, which will likely cause him to miss at least one week if not more time. If Tampa Bay gets to 10 or 11 wins despite all of these injuries, gets some key starters back down the stretch and actually wins the Wild Card playoff game at home, perceptions could change.

QUESTION: Can I donate my left arm to Baker Mayfield?

ANSWER: I can’t speak for Baker Mayfield, but I think he’d like to keep his own left arm. I’m sure he appreciates the sentiment, though. When someone wants to donate a limb to Tampa Bay’s quarterback that’s the sign of a true, big-time Bucs fan for sure!